A Favour Returned
by hmmmokaythen
Summary: Set during the four year gap in the Naruto Manga series, this story follows Shikamaru on a Dangerous mission to escort a foreign diplomat. Romantic ShikaTem adventure story. Chapter 6 and 7 are both up now. Please let me know if you like them.
1. A Troublesome day

Shikamaru watched the clouds passing lazily overhead. Being a Chounin was troublesome. He had not had much time to relax recently, he had been too busy with missions. He sighed, thinking of the tiresome things Hokage-samma had asked him to do. Still, at least none of the tasks had been as troublesome as his first mission. He thought back to that desperate struggle, where he had almost lost so many of his friends. Hokage-samma had praised him for bringing everyone back alive, but if those guys hadn't shown up... Definitely too troublesome. He smiled as he remembered the moment that he saw her. He had run out of ideas, almost given up completely, when his opponent was snatched away, and looking round in confusion he had seen her with that confident stance and cocky smile. Hmph, what a troublesome woman. She'll never let me forget that!

"Shikamaru!" Ino's voice echoed over the rooftops.

Gah, what now. Maybe if he kept quite and feigned sleep...

"Shikamaru!" This time the voice was not Ino's, and Shikamaru groaned. If Sakura was looking for him then it could only mean that Hokage-samma wanted him. Too troublesome by far. There would be no escaping from this by feigning sleep. The Hokage could be one scary woman when she got mad. Shikamaru sighed and sat up. It was Chouji who spotted him first, he knew Shikamaru liked this spot to relax and watch clouds so he had no trouble finding him.

"Oi , Chouji, what's Hokage-samma want now?" Shikamaru shaded his eyes and half smiled as he watched his friend approach. Chouji was a good friend, strong and dependable. Not nearly as troublesome as his other teamate Ino. Speaking of Ino, he could see her approaching over the rooftops, having heard Shikamaru's voice no doubt; Sakura followed.

"Hey, Shikamaru, how are the clouds?" Chouji, was eating from one of his ever present bags of potato chips, a big grin on his face.

"Clouds are clouds, they just are." Shikamaru said somewhat grumpily. Shikamaru got lazily to his feet and stretched before yawning loudly. Ino and Sakura both reached the rooftop just as he finished.

"Hokage-samma wants to see you right now. She has an urgent mission for your team." Sakura wasted no time passing on the Hokage's summons. Shikamaru could understand why, he would not want to have Tsunade as his mentor.

"Hai, hai. Lead on." Shikamaru stifled another yawn as he followed them across the rooftops. This was becoming even more troublesome, but there was nothing to do but get it over with.

When they reached the Hokage's office, sakura held open the door to let them in, careful to avoid coming fully into view of the woman seated behind the desk. Shikamaru sighed, that was a bad sign, Tsunade must be really angry.

"Yo." Shikamaru lifted his hand in a lazy greeting.

"I'm going to have to give you the mission I had lined up for Gai's team to do. That number one bakka and his suicidal pupil have both severely injured themselves in training. They were trying to do 20,000 one arm pull-ups with weights strapped to their ankles. He would have to choose the worst time, when all the jounins are on missions and even Chounins are in short supply."

Tsunade had her head in her hands. Looking around, Shikamaru noted a number of broken pieces of furniture, indicating that Tsunade already worked through the worst of her irritation. He should probably still be careful though, how troublesome.

"What's the mission." Shikamaru rubbed the back of his neck, which was stiff.

Sitting back up and taking her hands from her face, Tsunade regarded Shikamaru wearily.

"An important diplomat from the Country of Wind is visiting. His security up to our borders is being handled by the Sand, but he will need an escort of leaf ninjas once he crosses over. Your job is to provide that escort." She sighed. "This is an A-class mission, since it is known that he has been targeted by the Sound, but I have no Jounins on hand to tackle it. I have no choice but to send you."

Hmmf, how troublesome. This was sure to be a pain, his team had barely survived the last brush with the Sound. Still, turning Hokage-samma down would be even more troublesome...gah! This was turning into a bad day. "I guess it can't be helped so I will go. I will need some extra backup though, if the sound are involved."

Tsunade waved her hand dismissively. "Of course, take whoever you want. Just take care, we are short handed enough already. If you all die, then the village will loose face." She smiled half-heartedly. Shikamaru understood, as she was only half joking. "Take Sakura with you. She will brief you fully on the way and can act as the teams medical specialist."

Shikamaru left with Chouji and Ino in tow. Sakura who had been eavesdropping outside the door looked cheered by the thought of escaping her mentors clutches, even if only to face certain danger.

He would probably need to take both of Fuzzy Eyebrow's teamates and anyone else who was not currently on a mission. Shikamaru sighed. This was going to be a very troublesome day indeed.


	2. Splitting up

The team was finally approaching the rendezvous point at the border. Ahead of him, Shikamaru could see Hinata and Tenten moving swiftly. It was a lucky break that Hinata had been available for this mission as the rest of her team had left on a long mission a while back, without her. She had still been recovering from her injuries in a previous mission and was not fit to travel. Shikamaru was glad that she was able to come along as it meant that the team had an extra pair of Byakugan eyes to keep watch. She made an ideal point runner, with Tenten as immediate backup, she would see any approaching danger well in advance. Neji watched the back, and Hinata watched the front. It would be hard for anyone to take the small group by surprise. Without those two, an ambush would be troublesome, but with them it was much safer. Looking back over his shoulder, Shikamaru could see Sakura, Ino and Chouji (Neji was eclipsed by Chouji ;-) ). From her position in the middle of the group, Sakura could reach any injured teamate in short order, with Ino to guard her back. Once again Chouji was the rock at the heart of the formation. Shikamaru smiled.

"I see them!" Hinata's cry whipped Shikamaru's head back to the front of the column, as the group came to a stop. "Some thing's wrong, they are under attack!".

Damn, how troublesome. Oh well, nothing to do but go help them I guess. "Hinata, how far is it?"

"Uh, maybe five minutes, if we hurry." In spite of Hinata's hesitance, Shikamaru trusted her judgement. For all her doubts, Hinata had turned out to be a reliable ninja.

"Ok, we're going to move in fast. We will stop just close enough to better assess the situation and then decide on the best way to help out. We will only attack directly if they are in severe danger. Otherwise we may loose the advantage of surprise." Shikamaru met each ninjas eyes in turn, before continuing. He was glad Naruto wasn't here, that one would have complained for sure. "Let's go."

The team took off at high speed and soon approached the battleground. Two Sound nin had a group a pair of Sand nin cornered. One of the Sound was badly injured, and the other looked battered too.

"Hinata, Neji. Any sign of the minister or the rest of his escort of Sand nin?"

Both the Hyugas scanned the area, and then reported.

"So, the group moving away to the east is probably the minister and the remainder of his escort. I don't like the group moving in from the northwest. From the direction, it is likely they are sound nin reinforcements." How troublesome, once more, the group would have to split up. "Neji, Tenten. You must remain here and help the Sand nin here. Sakura, you will back them up but hold back unless there is no choice, you are too important as the team medical nin. Ino, Guard Sakura. Don't let anything get at her. Defeat the Sound as quickly as possible and set an ambush for the reinforcements. Then meet up with the rest of us. Go!"

The two groups set off at high speed, Neji leading the way to the beleaguered Sand nin and Hinata racing after the retreating minister. Shikamaru sighed. This was going to be an even more troublesome day than he thought. He looked up to the glimpses of sky between the trees. Still, at least the clouds were nice today...


	3. Too Many Unknowns

Shikamaru sped through the trees after Hinata, with Chouji close behind.

"There are two groups ahead!" Hinata called out. "I can see the two Sand nin and the ambassador, but there is also a group of Sound nin moving to intercept them. There's no way we can get to them first."

"Shit" Shikamaru cursed. The way this day was working out, it was fast becoming as troublesome as his last mission against The Sound. "We keep going. Just let me know when they intercept the Sand." Shikamaru knew that it was only a matter of time. The Sand had to carry the Ambassador and as such were unable to move at full speed.

"The Sound nin are splitting up! One of them is continuing to close in on the Sand while the other is heading North."

Shikamaru sighed. This was becoming way too troublesome. What were the Sound nin up to. In this situation, it is unclear whether he should split his team or not. It was like playing Go without knowing the rules. "Keep going." We must get to the Ambassador first. We can decide about the other Sound nin later." Shikamaru hoped he sounded more certain than he felt... "How long till the remaining Sound nin intercepts the Sand?"

"Maybe two minutes. They've left the forest and entered a rocky plain."

"How long till we catch up?"

"That depends. If they stop when the Sound reaches them then five minutes. Otherwise I don't know."

Damn, there were too many unknowns in this. Oh well, the best he could do was plan for the worst. "Oi, Chouji. If you have any snacks on you then now is the time to get eating. It looks like we have trouble ahead." He looked back over his shoulder and gave his friend a reassuring smile. Just knowing Chouji was at his back made Shikamaru feel steadier. The portly ninja smiled back and pulled out a huge bag of potato chips.

Turning his attention back to the way ahead, Shikamaru assessed his resources carefully. He had twenty kunais, ten shuricans, five explosive tags, ten flash tags, some very thin wire and some black caltrops. The last was a recent addition to his usual kit. The caltrops complimented his latest Jutsu very well. Hopefully it would be enough.

"The Sound nin has intercepted the Sand!" Hinata's voice dragged Shikamaru back to the present. "They've stopped." Shikamaru relaxed a bit. At least there was one less thing to worry about. "What the..?" Hinata's head shot up and she stopped dead, almost causing Shikamaru to run into her. She seemed to be following something through the sky.

"What is it Hinata?" Shikamaru asked the shocked ninja.

"There's some kind of giant rock flying through the air! It's heading straight for the Sand nin!" Hinata sounded shaken.

"Where's it coming from?"

Hinata looked uncertain. "I...I don't know..North maybe but beyond that..."

"Shit." Shikamaru cursed his bad luck. "That other Sound nin must be doing this." Shikamaru thought furiously.

Hinata gasped as a slight tremor shook the earth. "That was too close. They managed to avoid the rock but the opening it made meant that they were almost caught in the second Sound nin's attack. " Hinata paused for a moment. "One of the Sand nin has made a break for it. He seems to be heading Northwest, towards the source of the flying rock. I think it's Kankouro."

Shikamaru paused at this. If Kankouro was there then maybe..."Hinata, do you think you can track down this second Sound nin?"

Hinata looked uncertain but nodded her head.

"Take Chouji and intercept Kankouro. Then lead him to the second Sound nin's location. I will try to reach the Ambassador in time to help hold off the nin who is already there." Shikamaru met both there eyes with a confident look, letting them know that he trusted them to get the job done. "Go!"

Shikamaru set off. Once he reached the plains, he should be able to see the Ambassador and his escort. Perhaps if it was her then he could return the favour from last time... today was starting to look up.


	4. Shadow Play

Shikamaru reached the plains just as another huge rock came crashing down. The ground shook even this far away and a huge cloud of dust had been thrown up by the impact. Free of the trees, Shikamaru picked up the pace. From this distance it was just possible to see flashes of movement in the dust cloud from the impact. Suddenly the cloud swirled and cleared, as though driven off by a strong gust of wind. Shikamaru smiled. No doubt then, she was here. He would have to make sure he got there in time to help out. She would never let him forget it if he failed to return the favour from last time.

As he approached, he began to make out the scene. Temari stood on top of one of the rocks that had been thrown with the diplomat cowering at her feet. The sound nin stood a few hundred feet away, facing her. There was a flicker, and the sound nin seemed to disappear. At the same moment, Temari made a huge swing with her fan and the sound nin reappeared just outside of the range of her attack.

Damn that guy is fast! From the looks of things he uses his speed to make swift strafing attacks against his opponent. Only Temari's power and range had kept him off of her so far and it must be tiring her out. Shikamaru smiled. "Troublesome woman, looks like I'm gonna have to step in and give you a hand."

Shikamaru threw his first kunai at the sound nin as he approached. The sound nin managed to dodge it and spun to face him. "It's no use, you can't hit me!" The shuricans he threw were also dodged and the sound nin made his move, dashing towards Shikamaru. The shuricans had only been cover though as shikamaru had also thrown a kunai with and exploding tag at the ground between them. The tag went off as the Sound nin approached it and he veered off to avoid the explosion. Shikamaru threw a second and third explosive tagged kunai as he continued to dash towards Temari and the ambassador. His last two exploding tags bought him enough time to make it to Temari's side and the Sand nin swung her huge fan to make the sound nin back off once more.

"You better have a plan. If you just barrelled in here without one I won't be impressed." Temari glanced at him as he caught his breath. Her attention however remained fixed on the Sound nin. The ambassador lay at her feet, apparently unconscious.

"Hm! Just tell me the situation." He gave her a half smile as he returned the line she had given him in their last encounter.

"You've seen his speed. He doesn't seem to be able to maintain his speed for more than two point four seconds at a time and he needs to pause for about one second after that before the next burst. Apart from his speed he is unremarkable but because he's so quick, there is no way I can get away from him with the Ambassador." She paused. " Jump left when I say, and bring the ambassador."

Shikamaru glanced up and saw another huge rock approaching. He grabbed the Ambassador around the waste and as Temari called out he leapt to the left. Temari followed, whipping her fan around to prevent the Sound nin from attacking. The huge rock crashed down behind them and Temari was thrown to her knees by the impact. The Sound nin streaked towards them and Temari desperately swung her fan to fend him off. She got back to her feet unsteadily, breathing hard.

"One last thing." Shikamaru panted. "How long is it between those rocks?"

"They seem to come exactly every four minutes."

"OK! Keep him back for a few seconds more." Shikamaru smiled to himself. This was a perfect opportunity to use his new technique. Shikamaru crouched and performed a rapid series of seals. "Grand Shadow Pool Technique!" The ground in all directions went dark, as if a huge shadow had fallen over them. The shadow formed a perfect circle around them, reaching almost to the sound nin's feet.

The sound nin leapt back. "It's no use! I already know about your shadow bind technique so you won't catch me with such a cheap trick. You must be Nara Shikamaru. Kabuto has already told me all about you. I can simply wait here until you run out of chakara or are crushed under one of Nagara's rocks."

"How troublesome. I guess I'll have to get serious then." Shikamaru threw a kunai directly away from the Sound nin. The flash tag attached to it went off, and Shikamaru's shadow shot forward, momentarily reaching well beyond the circle of darkness...but the Sound nin had already moved.

Under his breath Shikamaru whispered to Temari. "Get ready to swing full circle."

"Too slow! You can't hope to catch me like that." The sound nin taunted.

Feh. Here goes phase one. Shikamaru threw two kunais this time, each in different directions. The sound nin moved quickly to avoid being trapped when they went off and, as the first tag ignited he dashed in towards them.

"Now Temari!" The sand nin swung her fan and unleashed a fierce gale. The sound nin evaded the attack, laughing as he leapt back out of range. Temari half collapsed, leaning on her fan for support. It was clear that she was almost exhausted.

"Pathetic! Your tactics only reveal the weaknesses of your techniques. Your Grand Shadow Pool is nothing but an illusion to hide your true shadow. When you use those pathetic flash tags of yours all you achieve is to advertise where your shadow truly is, handing me the opening I need. Hand over the Ambassador and I'll consider letting you go." The sound nin smiled wickedly. Temari swore.

" How troublesome. You go on and on. Let's see what you make of this!" This time eight kunais flew from Shikamaru's hands in all different directions. The sound nin moved at breathtaking speed, avoiding being in line with any of the kunais and, moving to the attack as the first flash tag went off. Temari attempted to rise and give one last swing but Shikamaru put a hand on her shoulder. " Watch."

The sound nin screamed, coming to an abrupt halt. Caltrops pierced his feet and his right hand, which he had braced himself with as the shock and pain upset his balance. Shikamaru had used Temari's sweeping fan as cover to spread them over the darkened circle. A look of horror came into the sound nin's eyes as he realised that none of the other kunais had flash tags on. Desperately he threw himself backwards beyond the edge of the dark circle. A thin tendril of shadow reached out towards him past the circle's edge but falling just short.

" Ahhh. You know you really are a troublesome guy. I thought for sure that would get you." Shikamaru had his hands behind his head and a slightly embarrassed look on his face. "Oh well."

"You bd! I'll kill you! Aaaaaagh!" The sound nin spat with fury as he pulled the caltrops from his feet and hand. "I had considered letting you live but now I'm going to make sure you die slowly!"

"Whatever. The next attack will finish you, since now you can't move well." Then, to Temari, Shikamaru whispered. "Grab the ambassador and be alert."

Shikamaru threw his last four kunais.

"I can still move well enough to dodge your pathetic attacks!" The sound nin surged to his feet and raced to a position out of line with the kunais.

"Check!" Shikamaru pulled on the wires he had attached to the four kunais and they began to swing around. The sound nin was trapped, the sweeping kunai all rapidly coming into line with him. He froze uncertain as to whether he should chance a dash across to safety or hope that all the tags ignite before they swing into line. All four flash tags went off at once, throwing walls of shadow on either side of the stricken sound nin. "Hah! You missed!" He called, relief and triumph plain in his voice.

Shikamaru just smiled. "Check Mate."

A huge shadow fell over the sound nin. He had been manoeuvred into a position passed over by the next great rock. In the moment that the shadow fell over the Sound nin, Shikamaru locked in the shadow manipulation technique. Temari and Shikamaru ran, passing the helpless sound nin travelling in the other direction. When Shikamaru came to a halt, their positions had been reversed...

The great boulder crashed to earth with sickening force. "Aieee. Perhaps I was too harsh."

"Remind me not to tease you so much." Temari said with a wry half smile. "Now take over supporting this guy. He's heavy."

He had finally repayed the favour and still she wasn't satisfied. " Hmph. Troublesome woman."


	5. Cornered

Shikamaru ambled down the corridor of the hospital. He had been in a good mood since returning from the mission but being in the hospital made him remember that time, when he had been waiting for news as to whether any of his friends would survive. Since then, the hospital always soured his mood. At least this time no one was in danger of dying but Kankuro's arm would take a few days to heal enough for him to make the journey home. He half smiled as he thought about that, as it would also mean that she would not be leaving for a few days yet either. She could be infuriating but as long as she was around he was never bored.

"Feh! I'm becoming nearly as foolish as my old man." He smiled to himself, his mood momentarily lifting again.

As he approached Kankuro's room Shikamaru began to make out voices. He recognised the woman's voice straight away. He should have realised that she wouldn't miss an opportunity to make her brother squirm.

"It's just too careless. To become badly injured on such a simple mission, and by a muscle brained tank like that! Huh, you must be slipping."

As Shikamaru reached the doorway, he saw Temari leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. A playful smile took the sting from Temari's words but her brother had still turned red with embarrassment and irritation.

"As if you were doing any better before prince charming arrived and saved you." He said grumpily. Needless to say, this had Temari spitting mad and Kankuro was looking like he might want the words back before he spotted Shikamaru frozen in the doorway. An evil smile spread across his face as he saw his way out. "Speaking of whom..."

Temari whirled to face the doorway, her face flashing crimson in embarrassment before she managed to regain her composure. The momentary show of emotion was quickly replaced by her usual haughty mask though and the cold smile she turned on her brother was enough to make Shikamaru shiver.

"I'll see you later, 'Cry-Baby' Kankuro."

Kankuro winced at the nickname as Temari stormed out.

"'Cry-Baby' Kankuro?" Shikamaru said, a wry smile on his face.

Kankuro put his good hand over his face. "Please, I'd rather not talk about that now. Ugh, that girl drives me nuts!" He dropped his hand and looked at Shikamaru. "You don't have any sisters do you?" Shikamaru shook his head. " Huh, lucky." He sighed. "She'll never let me forget this you know. I mean, what was I supposed to do? The guy had rock for skin! Literally!" He let his head fall back while letting out another big sigh.

"How's your arm now?" Shikamaru asked, mercifully changing the subject.

Kankuro brightened at this. "Good! I had heard that Tsunade Samma was a great medical ninja but I had expected to be out of action for weeks. In stead it looks like it will only take a few days. Also, it really helped to have Sakura on hand to treat it."

"Here, I got you something." Shikamaru tossed a small pouch onto the bed. It clinked as it landed.

Kankuro picked up the bag and looked inside.

"They're rock-drilling darts. I figured you would want to be prepared next time." Shikamaru had a sly grin on his face.

Kankuro laughed and thanked him before Shikamaru left him to puzzle over the best way to incorporate them into his puppets.

As he left the building, he was surprised to see Temari leaning against the wall by the door. When she saw him she stepped away from the wall, her arms still crossed over her chest.

"While my brother is recovering I'm going to need a new training partner. I figured that since you so desperately need to work on your chakra stamina you could use one too."

Shikamaru rubbed the back of his neck. Gah, this was troublesome. Her Idea of a training session would probably be fatal. Still, if he said no then she would get pissed at him, and next to Hokage Samma and his mother she was the most troublesome woman he knew...

"Ah, sounds like a good idea." He said, trying to sound more enthusiastic than he felt. Making it look like he was doing her a favour would only make her even madder than if he had refused. "I have a place I like to go for training so if I meet you here tommorrow..."

"What's wrong with right now?" The challenge in Temari's eyes quashed any hopes Shikamaru had of a quiet afternoon.

Shikamaru knew when he was beaten.

"Sure, why not?"


	6. Training

As they sped across the rooftops of Konoha towards the forest and his favourite training site, Shikamaru found himself feeling less and less miserable. It was true that Temari was about as troublesome a woman as he could imagine and she would probably give him a hard time during the training but they would be practising in his favourite spot. The site was as familiar to him as the rules of shouji. As long as it's there he should be fine.

Shikamaru came to a stop in a large clearing. Various items of training equipment littered the ground, along with craters and scars from previous mock fights and exercises.

"So, what kind of training did you have in mind?" Shikamaru asked, hands clasped behind his head. Temari was looking around the clearing with her hands on her hips and a disdainful look on her face. Shikamaru reflected that it probably did look a mess, but then it was too troublesome to bother tidying up.

"Hm! I suppose we should start with some chakra stamina training and then perhaps some light Taijutsu exercises."

Shikamaru tried not to let it show but inwardly he winced. Those were his too biggest weaknesses. This could be embarrassing. "Hai."

The training went badly as he anticipated, although he did better than usual. It bothered him to be outdone by a girl (especially this one!) and this drove him to put more effort into his training than he would normally. Unfortunately, this only made his performance more embarrassing. He fell from the underside of the tree limb well before Temari did, landing awkwardly. The troublesome woman had decided that they would test their chakra stamina by how long they could stand on the underside while constantly changing feet. Shikamaru felt totally drained after that but even though Temari looked similarly exhausted she insisted on going ahead with the Taijutsu exercises. Initially Shikamaru worried about hitting her, since he disliked hitting women, but after the first few seconds of the practice it became clear that this was not going to be an issue...

Temari left Shikamaru lying panting and covered in bruises on the floor. As she reached the edge of the clearing, she turned back with a wicked smile on her face. "I'll meet you back here tomorrow morning. We can do some serious training then." Her smile grew and she winked at him before leaving.

Shikamaru let his head fall back and gazed up at the clouds passing overhead. He reflected that in some ways Temari was in fact more troublesome than even his mother. He tried to think of ways out of his situation but there didn't seem to be any way of escaping without angering Temari. She was too smart to be tricked easily. In fact she was one of the smartest women he had ever met. Oh sure, Sakura was intelligent and new the ninja handbook forwards and backwards but Temari was cunning and had that wicked spark of imagination, which made her a far more difficult adversary. Still, there must be some way to get out of this. She was immensely proud, so maybe if he could beat her in the practice then she would be too embarrassed to continue training with him. He sat up and made a circle with his hands. How was he going to beat this troublesome woman...?

Temari was surprised to find Shikamaru waiting for her at the training ground the next morning. She had expected him to be late at the very least. This immediately raised her suspicions.

"Good morning Temari-san. Did you have a good sleep?" Shikamaru was leaning against a tree with both hands behind his head. He looked far too relaxed. Clearly he was planning something.

Temari ignored the question and instead asked one of her own. "Why are you so happy today?"

"Why shouldn't I be? It's a beautiful day. Look at those clouds...Ahh." Shikamaru definitely looked too relaxed. Temari didn't like that, she liked to keep the men around her off balance. It was no fun if they thought they were in control of the situation.

"I was thinking today we might have a practice match." Temari felt sure this would take the wind out of his sails but Shikamaru seemed unphased.

"Sounds good. When shall we start?" His smile was confident and sly. Temari was beginning to worry that she had somehow walked into a trap. It was too late now though. She would just have to press on and hope she could somehow regain control of the situation.

Shikamaru smiled to himself as they moved out into the centre of the clearing. Here was a chance to give that troublesome woman a taste of her own medicine. It would do her good to feel off-balance for once.


	7. A Perfect Plan?

Temari swung her fan again. The trees shook with the intensity of the blast of air and branches were torn free to spiral off into the forest. It was no good! She had been chasing Shikamaru through the woods for almost an hour but he always seemed to be just out of reach, or at least never where she expected. She knew he was close because periodically practice kunais would come flying at her from the surrounding trees. She cursed again as another practice kunai shot towards her. She Dodged it, trying to conserve chakra, only to spot the tendril of shadow sneaking along the floor towards her from the direction she had dodged to. She threw herself away from it and activated a tripwire, sending more kunai at her. Desperately she swung her fan, blasting the kunai off course and allowing her to regain her footing.

Damn him! That cocky little snot was jerking her around like one of Kankouro's puppets. He has to be close. Otherwise he couldn't keep attacking. The problem was that she couldn't pin down where he was going to attack from next, so she couldn't defend effectively or fight back. Hmph. Maybe she didn't need to know where he was hiding. It was risky, because he could be seriously hurt but...

She smiled viciously to herself. A full circle swing gave her the breathing space she needed to perform the summoning technique. She would have him swing the scythe backwards. After-all, she chuckled to herself, it's not like she wanted to KILL him.

The giant weasel appeared in a huge blast of smoke and began to swing its scythe. From the other side of the tree Temari had her back against she heard a sound that killed her feeling of triumph stone dead.

"Feh."

The weasel's swing changed course, swinging in tight and low, smacking Temari's fan from her hands and up over the trees. Temari was flung backwards by the impact. She cried out as she crashed into some bushes. The weasel was preparing another swing but Temari quickly unsummoned it and scrambled to her feet. Her hair was in a mess and her clothes were torn, but that was nothing to the anger that burned through her at how humiliatingly easily she had been read. Where was that little worm now?

She watched carefully for shadows, but the forest was still around her. No, wait! She could just hear the sounds of someone moving rapidly away from her. In fact, the direction was the same as the one her fan had been thrown in.

Damn him!

She threw herself after Shikamaru and began to make ground on him. If she could get to him, she could still win this! He was no match for her at Taijutsu, and if she could disable him even for a second, she could regain her fan and take back control of the fight. Clearly he had an advantage in these woods, but once she had her fan, she could take the fight into a clearing and hold her ground. There! She could see him moving through the trees ahead of her and increased her pace, desperate to reach him before he could get to her fan. She leapt towards him, her fist lashing out as she landed behind him on the branch.

She seemed to watch in slow motion as he turned and she saw the seals he was forming.

Oh no.

Shadowy hands rooted her feet to the branch she was standing on and twined their way up her body. She tried desperately to reach Shikamaru and managed to grab his jacket. She yanked him close and attempted to grasp his throat, but he caught her hands and although she was stronger, she could feel the shadow hands creeping up her arms.

She couldn't fight their strength.

Had she truly lost?

For a long time after he woke up, Shikamaru lay on the ground looking up through a gap in the canopy at the clouds passing overhead.

Damn, what a troublesome woman! He smiled to himself.

The plan had been perfect. He had read the fight exactly and hadn't even been forced into any of his dozen or so back up strategies. He had spent the whole night thinking it through step by careful step. Never before had he devoted so much time to the planning of a single fight. He had been so sure that it would work...and it had, as far as it went.

He had moved her around like one of the pieces in a game of Go. Never once did she do anything other than exactly what he expected her to, even down to her last efforts to strangle him. He sighed.

No, the plan had been perfect. It was only after the plan that things went wrong. He had her bound by shadowy hands, unable to move her arms or legs. All he had to do was get her to admit defeat...but then she had kissed him.

He lifted one hand to touch his lips as he remembered the taste of her kiss. His heart had stopped in that moment as she pressed herself forward to plant her lips on his. Then everything went black.

He chuckled to himself. He didn't even remember releasing her. In fact, only the lump on the back of his head told him what had happened. She really was the most troublesome woman he had ever met. Of course she would never let him forget that she beat him...again. Somehow though Shikamaru wasn't bothered too much by that. He probably wouldn't be able to forget that moment even if she never mentioned it ever again. Definitely troublesome, but while she was around life was never boring.

Shikamaru smiled up at the clouds...


End file.
